Instincts

I read something interesting today that I wanted to share.

-- Phil Schwarz, Vice-President,
Asperger's Association of New England wrote about ABA teaching methodologies:

"These teaching methodologies work beautifully for some autistic kids, to teach them to learn how to learn. They do so precisely because they leverage the children's specifically autistic strengths:  good memory, attention to detail, attention to patterns and to the continuation and breakage of patterns. They also break cognitive steps down into units that can be tuned to match the children's cognitive and sensory bandwidth and attention span -- both at the outset and as they increase over time."  Please look him up if you want to see his "defense" for ABA teachings.

I only wanted to post the definition he wrote because it brought me to a place where I am further understanding my son and his lack of instinct.  I already know that our days are consumed with teaching, "teaching him how to learn."

But what happens when he "learns" poor behaviors from his peers then finds it difficult to understand why his mom keeps telling him not to do it?  Someone else did it, why can't he do the same?  Puppy has no instinct to know much of what is right and what is wrong until he learns about it, and usually the hard way.

Also, he doesn't usually show interest to play with the other kids.  Mostly it's because unless he is taught to catch and throw a ball, basketball, baseball, etc., it's all Greek to him.  I sometimes forget to remember this small factor myself.  I hope that now since I wrote about it, I'll be more alert and not so quick to correct him for the chance that he did not know.